A screenshot from the Quartz iOS app on the iPhone X showing how we can place entire buildings on a tabletop.

Augmented Reality

In December of 2017, John Keefe a Bot Developer and Product Manager at Quartz, approached SeeBoundless with a simple question...

"What can we do with photogrammetry and AR?"

After months of trial and error with crashed drones and 3D models that looked like they belong in a Salvador Dali museum instead of an iOS app we had figured out a cost effective and timely solution to creating 3D models. Using off the shelf products and a myriad of photogrammetry and 3D modeling software, we are now able to fly, photograph, stitch and finish a model in less than five days.

All in, this project was the culmination of hundreds of hours of research and development, flight and travel planning, editorial meetings, field reporting and photography, 3D modeling and rendering to get a finished 3D model into the iOS app.

360-Degree Video

The technology of immersive video is one that SeeBoundless jumped right into back in 2015. Experimenting early on with partners at The University of Florida, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and The Weather Channel, we quickly began to build a reputation as an industry leader in immersive storytelling. Now, with a few years, more than 40 productions and workshops at dozens of universities, newsroom and non-profits, we are excited to use our expertise for good and partner with storytellers looking to bring about social change through immersive technologies.

GEARUPVR - State of North Carolina

SeeBoundless worked for more than three years with the State of North Carolina to build a better solution for first generation college students to experience 16 public campuses before applying to college.

A MacBook Pro “stitches” video files inside of a glacier in Iceland (Photo by Steve Johnson).

Climate360 -The Weather Channel

Most of us have heard of the threat of climate change, but not all of us see it day-to-day. In Iceland, that’s not the case, and glaciers there have been melting at alarming speeds. Boundless partnered with The Weather Channel, exploring river systems beneath glaciers and learning how glaciers work from the inside out.

A GoPro 360-degree camera records sunset at the Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Texas (Photo by Steve Johnson).

Palo Duro Canyon - Washington Post

Tucked just outside of Amarillo Texas is one of the largest canyons in the country, second only to the Grand Canyon. Palo Duro and it’s sister canyons in Caprock, are home to stunning views, outdoor activities and some of the last American bison.

Photogrammetry

Once reserved for military operations and large-budget cinema effects, SeeBoundless has worked with technologists, 3D artists, researchers and camera companies to perfect the planning, production and distribution of photo-realistic 3D objects.

We are using this technology in newsrooms to create entirely new ways to engage audiences into detailed reporting and in-depth storytelling, we’re working with educational institutions to find betters ways to bring lessons plans alive in the classroom and we’re developing new ways to use this technology in the field for NGOs and non-profits to help educate vulnerable populations.

Photogrammetry is the foundation for realistic augmented reality experiences and is quickly becoming a standard tool in our storytelling process.

SeeBoundless has spent more than 1,000 hours perfecting capturing and stitching techniques allowing us to capture objects as small as a marble bust (see left) to as large as city blocks.

Photogrammetry models are made from hundreds of images shot in specific sequences to capture all angles of an object like this statue from the Getty Villa in Malibu, California.